Regret
by ManiazAzn
Summary: Some things you would never regret. And then there's that one thing that makes you question yourself. My fic for Yurianimeotaku's Valentine's Day writing challenge. ShizNat. T for language.


Mmm...Valentine's Day...I sincerely hope all of you have someone to be with on this day!

I changed the time period...so just warnin' ya. It's during World War II. I also tried to make this as historically

correct as I could.

Oh, can anyone figure out where I got the setting from?

And this is technically the story I wrote for Yurianimeotaku's Valentine's Day writing challenge.

Well, read along. -smiles-

**Disclaimer: Mai HiME and its characters are Sunrise's.****…****Damn them…-shots ring out-…OK OK I'M SORRY...****g****eez!**

* * *

_February 1__5__th__, 1946_

The black limousine sped along the broken highway, swiftly and making practically no noise among all the other noisy automobiles. Inside, sat a group of women in formal party apparel. Long extravagant dresses, some jewelry, and a little too much make-up for a grumpy redhead. A lone woman sat near the window of the luxurious car whereas the others sat in the middle, chatting away.

"...it was so adorable!" A brown-haired woman squealed loudly.

Another woman, a busty redhead, giggled. "Chie must have gone a long way, huh?"

Aoi sighed and twirled a string of hair on her index finger, "It was actually a last minute thing."

A voice cut in. "I'm hungry, Mai!"

"We're almost there, Mikoto." Mai smiled, fondly ruffling the girl's hair.

"I have some snacks." An annoyed voice spoke. The speaker held up a bag of what appeared to be chips and waved the packet in front of Mikoto. The child hastily grabbed the snacks, earning a glare from the former owner. "Have fun with that."

"What do you say, Mikoto?" Mai scolded.

"Thank you, Nao!" Mikoto cried out, her mouth full of food.

Mai sighed and turned to the lone figure at the window eagerly. "Shizuru-san!"

Shizuru jumped slightly at the sound of her name and peered at the redhead. "Ara, Mai-san?"

"When was your favorite Valentine's Day?" Four pairs of eyes swiveled to face the woman being questioned. Well, three pairs, since one still had hers on the chips.

The crimson-eyed one thought for a moment before a small smile graced her lips. She looked away out the window and started softly. "Hmm. It was most likely when I was helping out as a nurse during the war..."

_February 1__3__th__, 1942_

_3__rd__ Air Division's HQ_

"Sir! You can't be serious!" A gruff voice yelled out in the office.

"I'm sorry, soldier, but we have enough pilots as it is." The uniformed man behind the desk shook his head as he sat back into the large leather chair. "Unless if you can find someone willing to give you the essential shots and be able to vouch for your skills by the end of the day, then I suggest you return to your authoritative officer for further instructions. Got it? Excused, soldier!" The last command was barked loudly.

The pilot in front of him saluted stiffly and turned to leave. As the pilot's hand descended upon the knob of the door, the man spoke once again, "Also, don't return unless if you have that one person."

With gritted teeth and clenched fists, the pilot exited the office. Walking away from the room, the pilot started swearing and almost bumped into a fellow pilot that had been around the corner.

The dark-haired other had been talking to a nurse; the nurse's back pressed up against the wall. The dark-haired pilot had their left arm propped against the wall and their right hand, cupping the nurse's cheek. Both of their faces were dangerously close, but upon hearing footsteps, quickly redeemed themselves.

The other grinned at the fuming pilot. "Natsuki! How'd it go?"

"The fucking bastard won't let me, Chie!" Natsuki snarled nastily. The nurse hastily muttered an excuse and shuffled away, her face red.

Chie glanced after the nurse with a disappointed sigh before eyeing Natsuki. "He let me, why not you?"

"I don't know! He said something stupid about some shots and shit. So I'll get the damn shots." Natsuki growled, making towards the Infirmary of the base.

"Ya know, he never liked you." Chie chuckled, winking at a couple of nurses passing by. The wink elicited a fit of giggles from the group as the two rounded the corner and quickly reached the small, but cozy Infirmary.

Natsuki threw the doors of the Infirmary open, speaking loudly as she did. "Yeah, well too bad, I'll just find a nurse and..." The blue-haired pilot trailed off, appearing to be distracted in something across the room.

Chie cocked an eyebrow and looked around the room to find the object that had captured the other woman's attention. Instead of what she had expected, Chie's chocolate brown orbs rested on a chestnut-haired figure that was busily arranging papers on a desk. Her eyes widened slightly before speaking to the speechless woman beside her.

"That's _Shizuru Viola_. She's probably one of the hottest nurses in this whole place." Chie snorted with laughter. "I tried something on her and she didn't even bat an eye. You definitely have no chance with her, Natsuki!"

"I-I never said I was going to do anything! Don't jump to conclusions! I just need some shots!" Natsuki feebly protested and started towards the nurse. Seemingly hilarious to the tomboy pilot, Natsuki seemed to have trouble with her balance and would bump into objects every few seconds in an effort to get across the room. The other nurses on duty glared at the blue-haired woman disapprovingly while Chie watched in amusement. On hearing all the commotion, the goddess-like nurse peered up from her position and watched the pilot scramble to pick up a fallen tray. Natsuki swore she saw the ghost of a smile as she placed the tray on a nearby table. Thanking Kami in her head, Natsuki was relieved she didn't break anything else on the way to the nurse.

Crimson met emerald.

"H-Hey, I-uh-I need to get my shots? I fly." Natsuki blurted out stupidly, scolding herself silently immediately after she spoke. _Idiot! Real smooth._

Viola cocked an eyebrow and ran her eyes over the "flyer". The pilot wore a plain white T-shirt and a loose pair of cargo pants. Flowing, dark tresses were hastily pulled up in a ponytail and bright emerald eyes gazed out from below a few strands of hair. _She's kind of cute, _Viola mused to herself.

Shizuru started, realizing what she had just thought. She quickly coughed into her hand and briskly asked the woman what her name was.

"Kruger, Natsuki Kruger." The woman gave a goofy grin. _Damn, that accent makes her sound good._

"I'll wait for ya outside, Wolfie!" Chie's voice boomed out from the hallway. Natsuki only gave a distracted grunt, focusing on the _gorgeous _creature in front of her. _Shit. Did I just think that?_

Shuffling through more papers, Shizuru spoke to keep the conversation going. If you could call one person staring at another and the other trying hard not to do the same, conversation. "Wolfie?"

"Err, yeh, the team gave me a stupid nickname. Supposedly, I'm called the "Wolf of the Skies"." Kruger scowled. "It's not my fault they can't fly."

After a few moments of thought, she added. "Well maybe except Chie."

"Oh, was he the one with you?" Shizuru asked.

Natsuki laughed, surprising the nurse. Shizuru looked at Natsuki in confusion.

"Yeh, that was _her_." Kruger brandished another grin, emphasizing on the word.

Crimson eyes widened in understanding and their owner was about to apologize until the other stopped her.

"It's fine, Chie gets it all the time. Besides, she gets all the girls this way." Natsuki chuckled.

Shizuru coughed once again, embarrassed. She almost sighed out loud in relief when she found a sheet with the pilot's name on it. "Kruger, Natsuki. a.k.a. "Wolf of the Skies", age 22."

Setting down the paper, she reached for several needles. "You need a few shots. Do you know what to do?"

"Uh, of course." Natsuki swiftly walked inside a small room and bent over on the side of the table, pulling down her cargoes, along with her boxers down to her ankles, leaving her bottom bare. Shizuru followed her into the room and pulled the curtains behind her.

The nurse tried not to gawk at the pilot as she prepared the first shot. "You're pretty young for a pilot."

Natsuki shrugged. "Chie's even younger than me. And look at her no – gah!" A sharp prick on her bottom cut her off.

Shizuru struggled to keep her giggles in check as she proceeded to give the second shot. Kruger swore quietly to herself before letting out a shaky breath. _One chance._

"H-Hey, are you busy later? I mean since it's almost Valentine's Day and all…I was wonderin' if you wanted to do someth – ah!" Once again, a familiar jab on her behind told her that the other wasn't interested.

Smirking as she readied the last syringe, Shizuru figured she'd play with the pilot before letting her go. She shuffled closer to the bent-over woman and bent over to whisper in the other's ear, taking care to lightly brush her hand against the revealed bottom. The slight contact made Natsuki shiver, feeling a strange sensation crawl up her spine.

"You know, I've always wondered…" Viola whispered softly into Kruger's ear, "…what _it _felt like. Whether it hurt or not…" With that, she jerked her hand and in sank the teeth of the needle.

A surprised choke was heard from Natsuki once Shizuru backed away from the table. "We're done."

Natsuki groaned and tried to push herself off the table. A little wobbly, she steadied herself as much as she could and bent down to pull up her pants. Almost tipping over, she had to grip the edge of the cold table. After her pants had been dragged over her bare skin, she stood straight up but stumbled almost immediately scrambled into a cart. _Why is my head spinning so much? _

Shizuru frowned and examined the pilot's papers closely. "Have you taken these shots already?!"

Natsuki's mind wasn't working properly. She grinned weakly.

"H-Hey…I really like you…w-we should do somethinnn'…you'rrre rrreally prrretty yaa knnow thaaat?" Natsuki slurred, holding tightly onto the unsteady cart. Her hands were shaking too much for the cart to remain upright and it wasn't exactly surprising when the cart did topple over, bringing the drugged pilot down along with it. Natsuki blindly tripped above the cart and her face slammed directly into the metal table.

Upon impact, she _heard_ but did not feel her nose crack loudly. She felt blood ooze from the broken feature and the last thing she heard was a distinctive accent. "Natsuki? Someone come help!..."

When the darkness came, she reluctantly let it overwhelm her.

_A few hours later, outside HQ_

Shizuru Viola sighed inwardly as she walked down the large stairs of the Headquarters, surrounded by a group of nurses seeking her attention. Her shift had just ended and as always, there were a couple of 'fan girls' that waited for her at the top of the stairs. She adjusted the bag she was carrying to a more comfortable position and looked around, desperately seeking a escape. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar flash of blue hair under a tree. The figure stepped forward from the shade of the large oak.

Natsuki Kruger glanced up sheepishly at the nurse, holding a large bottle of what appeared to be champagne and a pair of wine glasses. Her nose was covered by large bandages, unseemly so and yet, Shizuru seemed to brighten up at the sight of the pilot.

"There's someone I need to talk to." Shizuru politely excused herself from the crowd of nurses and started off towards the other woman. _Yes!_

Arriving at the tree, Shizuru beamed at Natsuki and promptly plopped down on ground under the shade of the oak, her bag forgotten. "How is your nose?"

Chuckling nervously, Natsuki sat alongside the chestnut-haired woman with her legs splayed and the bottle of champagne in between, relaxing against the tree. "Doctors say I'll be able to take the bandages off in the next week or so. Though, I'll be stuck with a broken nose."

Shizuru smiled and gestured towards the bottle with a hand. "May I ask what that is for?"

"Oh! I thought I'd bring it to celebrate." Natsuki took a glimpse at Shizuru. "I'm goin' off to Singapore in the morning."

Natsuki then turned to the champagne bottle and wrestled with its cork, attempting to get the object off. Shizuru watched on with a sudden sad look, thinking of how many of the soldiers that have been off to fight have not yet returned. She felt some remorse at the thought of the striking young pilot off fighting somewhere, even if she had just met the pilot a few hours ago. A sudden popping noise woke her from her thoughts and one look at Natsuki told her that the cork had exploded right into the pilot's face. Or more exact, her nose. Kruger gritted her teeth in pain and tried to keep tears from slipping out.

"It's fine!" Natsuki said agonizingly and made an effort to pour the champagne into the glasses; but seeing as her hand was shaking and it was spilling everywhere, Shizuru quickly took the items and placed them beside her. Natsuki took the initiative and hastily grabbed her nose, almost howling in pain.

Viola didn't think about it; she hurriedly pulled Natsuki down, so that her face was on her lap. She then frantically searched her bag for an ice pack.

Once it was found, Shizuru slapped Natsuki's hands away from her nose and gingerly lowered the ice pack onto the swelling nose.

"Stop fidgeting!" She scolded the squirming pilot. Soon enough, the blue-haired woman stopped all movement and concentrated on Shizuru's expression. The look of concern on the nurse's face was a bit surprising, but pushing that aside, Natsuki thought the other looked even more beautiful, if that was possible. _I want her._

Noticing the silence, Shizuru spoke. "Natsuki?"

Hearing no answer, she met Natsuki's startling emerald eyes. The pilot stared back with such fire, Shizuru almost shed away. But instead, her breath caught in her throat. Her stomach twisted within itself, it almost hurt. This strong feeling of longing buried deep in her gut threatened to rip her apart.

And just like that, their faces were inches apart.

Shizuru's breath caressed Natsuki's lips and before she could respond, Natsuki leaned up and captured Shizuru's lips with her own.

The world stopped.

The sensations that ran through her body were indescribable. Her body burned as if on fire and yet, she felt Natsuki's cool skin against her fingers, soothing her.

The two pairs of lips parted after what seemed like an eternity.

How Natsuki wished there was no space of time at all.

After a few moments of silence, Shizuru giggled and whispered against Natsuki's lips. "I think Natsuki would look quite handsome with that broken nose."

* * *

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Aoi and Mai squealed in harmony. 

Nao snorted and muttered something under her breath.

Mikoto looked up from her empty bag of chips. "Hey Shizuru? What happened to Natsuki?"

The limo fell silent. Mai tried desperately to shush Mikoto but the cat-like girl wouldn't give up.

"Mai-san." Shizuru's soft voice assured the redhead. "It is fine."

Shizuru turned to Mikoto and smiled sadly. "Natsuki's superiors tell me she was shot down by one of the British planes while flying over Singapore."

She continued, her voice almost breaking.

"Sometimes I wish I would have never given her those shots."


End file.
